Enough. We're walking away from supermarkets

pawsies

Kirri wrote: »

^ Ditto, no greengrocer in my town and it's a big town (think that is the problem, no decent small shops)

Yep looks great value, huge selection and free delivery, is worth supporting these smaller shops

I don't know why they don't push these free delivery services more these days, I'm sure they could get some trade back from the supermarkets.

Pawsies - have you investigated whether anyone is running a food coop in your area as they often do things like all the Suma wholefoods etc.

Yeah I had a look before. Unfortunately not though.

Also I just realised the page I was looking at for veg boxes is the old store owners, they got taken over when I moved here so don't know if they still do veg boxes.

Typical eh!

sams247

Pawsies, I hope your veg place does do delivery........ if they dont maybe suggest they start? Do you have any farmers markets nearby? I love my local one and yesterday they had some new people there which is always good. Personally what I'd like to find is a local allotment group that would sell the excess they grow - any ideas anyone? We have also had some success at local farm shops - do you have any farms nearby? Good luck on sourcing a good local shop for your veg. I hope the tide will slowly turn and local shops will become the norm again.

Just had a delivery from Happy Belly (http://thehappybelly.co.uk/), lovely food, good quality, the sausages very meaty.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

The qaulity of my food and the customer service has gone up since I have gone mostly, independent. I only use Mr T for a few things and or other Supermarkets but I get much better value in Independent outlets for my Flour, Chilli Sauce, organic fruit and veg, eggs, I could go on.
I live on my own and so my costs are not like families but money is tight and it matters how I budget.
I wish I done it earlier. There is also the avoidance of datamining.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

My flour Bakery bits best I have ever had, there are zillions of independent chilli sauce shops so I have a veritable cornocopia of choice and an journey to embark on.
The meat at Farmison and Riverford is delicious and of unparalelled quality. I do a big stock up and can eat of freezer for rest of the month.
The eggs.
I think 80% of shop is now independent.
I want to promote independent retailers and no longer be exploited by supermarket fat cats who give me as little as they can get away with.

SoWhatIsNext

What is the fruit and veg quality like with Farmison?

Their non-organic produce is more expensive than Waitrose organic range, and far above the price of the regular range.

The meat (in the meat boxes) seem favourable in terms of price against Waitrose Organic, and about the same as non-organic free range.

Is the quality of the meat and produce really that much better than the Waitrose organic range?

I have a local market, but there is only one fruit and veg stall and it is basically the same stuff as the supermarkets and slightly more expensive.

There are quite a few butchers and a couple of fishmongers though, but none of them organic. Prices are around the same as the supermarkets although you can select the quantity you need. Don't know if there is any difference in quality though.

Edwardia

Ocado organic veg is often cheaper than Waitrose.

KxMx

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver wrote: »

The qaulity of my food and the customer service has gone up since I have gone mostly, independent. I only use Mr T for a few things and or other Supermarkets but I get much better value in Independent outlets for my Flour, Chilli Sauce, organic fruit and veg, eggs, I could go on.
I live on my own and so my costs are not like families but money is tight and it matters how I budget.
I wish I done it earlier. There is also the avoidance of datamining.

So they forced you at gunpoint to sign up for their loyalty cards then? You can always say no, plenty do!

sams247

I've tried and tasted a lot of chicken now from various sources and my personal choice is Graigs Farm, best by far in my view. Their breast fillets (organic) are amazing.

I wasnt too thrilled with my veg from Abel & co this time, a lot of it was soft. I think I'll be sticking to farmers markets for veg.

Can anyone recommend a good Bakery outlet anywhere? Online or local to Berkshire? Family bakery?

Gigervamp

Have you checked BigBarn for bakers?

pawsies

Thanks for that Gigervamp. Useful site